


you can’t wake up (this is not a dream)

by TheQueenOfWhump



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Febuwhump, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Whump, its literally just whump, thats it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-20 18:52:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17627735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenOfWhump/pseuds/TheQueenOfWhump
Summary: The Avengers are captured by an old foe, one that they believed to be subdued. Who’s to say what they want?They figure it out pretty quickly.Peter honestly just wanted to do his science homework, but now, it seems, someone else is using him for their own science homework.—Welcome to Febuwhump 2019! Short Chapters, cause I’m gonna try to get them up in time. All prompts are connected (except a few, and those will be marked in the summary section). Enjoy the pain, fellow readers!Title from Gasoline by Halsey.





	1. Trapped

Everything was blurry. 

 

His sight was blurry, his hearing was blurry, his senses were blurry. 

 

Was that a phone ringing? 

 

No. That was just in his ears. 

 

So . . . what had happened?

 

Okay. He was somewhere dark. He knew that. His head was pounding - he knew that too. And it was quiet. Too quiet. 

 

He shook his head groggily, lifting his hands to rub at his eyes-

 

Only to realize they were behind his back, bound by metal cuffs. 

 

And all at once, everything was clear. 

 

He was sitting on a concrete floor, stained by something he hoped wasn’t blood. It was a modestly sized room, and along the walls were . . . 

 

This was definitely not good. 

 

The Avengers - all in civilian clothing - were all lined up along the walls, legs splayed out in front of them as their backs pressed against the dull brick. 

 

This was really not good. 

 

As far as he could see, he was the only one conscious. He could see Natasha right across from him, her chin resting against her chest and a bit of blood matted in her rich red hair, which he could barely see because of the dim lighting. 

 

Next to her sat Steve, and on her other side sat Bucky. Tony’s jaw clenched at the idea of them being purposefully separated. They too looked on the verge of death. Tony figured he probably didn’t look much better. 

 

Next to Steve sat Rhodey, and d*mn the whole world if Tony’s heart didn’t stop when he realized that his best friend was there too. 

 

And next to Bucky . . . 

 

“Oh,  _ God no  _ . . .”

 

Peter. 

 

_ Please, please,  _ please _ let this be a dream, or a hallucination, or just let me be in my own personal hell, just please, don’t let this be real, please _ -

 

He looked like death. His lip was split, his eye was swollen, his hair was matted with blood. He was slumped against the wall in a lazy way, almost like he was simply taking a nap. Tony wished he could lie to himself - tell himself that that was the case - but he was too deep in his own panic to do so. 

 

He could hardly breathe, but he hardly cared. His kid was hurt, he didn’t know where they were, all of the Avengers were compromised, he could feel his heart leaping out of his chest, his chest was screaming, he didn’t have the armor, his head was exploding-

 

“Tony, come on, you need to calm down-“

 

Calm down? How could he calm down? Everything was wrong and nothing was right and why did his chest feel like it was imploding-

 

“Just breathe, Tony, please-“

 

He couldn’t breathe, how could he when he wasn’t even sure if his kid’s chest was moving up and down-

 

“Peter’s fine, Tony, you need to breathe-“

 

Peter couldn’t be fine, there was blood in his hair and his chest wasn’t moving-

 

“Peter is breathing, Tony. He’s going to be okay.”

 

The voice was right. 

 

He could see it - the unsteady movement of his kid’s chest - up, down, up, down - and it calmed him. Even if it was ever so slightly. 

 

Tony turned. His stomach dropped. 

 

“Hey, Tony,” Bruce said sadly. 

 

“Can - can you-“

 

“Already tried.” Bruce shook his head sadly. “I’m gonna need to get a hold of whatever they used. I wish I could subdue it all the time like it is now. Trust me - I woke up angry.”

 

“Who else - who all is here?”

 

“You saw the four of them,” he said, nodding to the other wall. “On your other side is Wanda, and on my left is Sam. Next to him is Clint. Thor and Vision are MIA.” 

 

Despite his spinning mind, Tony could feel himself nod. 

 

This was bad. This was very bad. They had nothing to go off of. They had no weapons, no resources, no information, and no idea where they were. And Tony could feel the thick metal cuffs digging into each of his hands above his head, almost like he had already surrendered himself powerless against whoever had trapped them. 

 

His mind reeled as more and more of them woke up. 

 

Peter was the last to wake, and Tony was somehow grateful. Grateful that he would be in this mess for less time than the rest of them. 

 

Peter ended up having a panic attack. Bucky was able to calm him down, since he was closest. Tony watched helplessly from the other side of the room. 

 

His heart was ready to fall to the ground in a thousand tiny pieces when tears leaked out of the corners of his kid’s eyes. So he looked down, and kept looking there until he heard it. 

 

“Mr. Stark?”

 

Tony’s head snapped up. “Hey, kiddo.”

 

Peter’s dirty face contorted into something like a smile before it quickly fell away. “You can get us out, r-right?”

 

Tony ignored all of the pitying looks he got from the other Avengers. They knew just how helpless their situation was.

 

But Peter didn’t. 

 

“Yeah. I sure hope so, buddy.”

 

Because Peter didn’t know  _ who _ had kidnapped them yet. 

 

One look at Bucky was enough for Tony to know for sure. He gave a small nod, matched perfectly with a grimace. 

 

It was just then that a man strode in through the door with a wicked grin on his face.

 

“Let us begin!” he announced in a German accent. “After all - we must Hail Hydra.”


	2. Peer Pressure

The Avengers all had various emotions displayed on their faces, whether they were genuine or not - anger, resentment, boredom - but all Tony could focus on was the absolute terror in Peter’s eyes.

 

Tony wanted to call out to him. To tell him it would be alright. To hug him. But he couldn’t - the man was talking again, and guards followed him before the door slammed shut.

 

“I understand,” he started, German accent as thick as his silver hair was thin, “that we have some of the best bodies and minds with us today. And even places where those intertwine.”

 

He kneeled next to Peter. “You’re a fine one, aren’t you?” He turned before he could see Peter’s eyes widen even more. “And Barnes - so nice to see you again! You should be grateful that you will soon regain your purpose.”

 

“Alright, you sick piece of-“

 

Tony wasn’t aware that America’s Golden Boy could cuss so eloquently, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. He looked over at Peter, whose lip was trembling and eyes held tears that threatened to spill over.

 

They locked eyes. _It’ll be okay_ , Tony mouthed, relieved when Peter gave a tiny nod in return.

 

“What do you want?” Bucky asked, his voice hollow and void, cutting Steve off. Tony hadn’t heard that tone since he was coming out of his brainwashing. And it was honestly terrifying.

 

“We simply want to experiment. Nothing more.”

 

Tony would be lying if he said all of the Avengers fists didn’t immediately clench.

 

Bucky, however, remained stoic. “How original.”

 

“Well,” the man continued, “it would be you, unless one of your teammates wanted to take your place-“

 

“Done.” Steve’s face was set in a glare, and Tony couldn’t help but shiver at his tone.

 

“Not if I go first.” Natasha glared at him too, and Tony could feel the intense heat coming off of both of them.

 

And soon, all of the Avengers were bickering about who would go. Even Tony.

 

_If the old me in a Siberian bunker could see me now._

 

That is, until a gunshot aimed at the ceiling shut them all up.

 

“While you all seem so concerned,” mystery man said, lowering his gun to mess with it somehow, “and it truly does warm my heart - I have no use for any of you. We have already experimented on this one, an enhanced. All of you humans are worthless to our cause. Except one of you.”

 

He turned around to face the only who hadn’t said anything, and it wasn’t because they lacked any type of hero complex, but rather because they were simply still in too much shock with the whole situation.

 

Tony’s stomach turned to ice.

 

 _No_ -

 

 _Wait you can’t_ -

 

 _Please_ -

 

“What do you say, little Spider?” he asked, kneeling down to face Peter. “What do you say to saving your friend and family member from a world of pain?”

 

Mountains of protests erupted from the other Avengers, but none were louder than Tony.

 

“Kid, I swear to all things good and holy, if you even _think_ about doing that I will kill you and bring you back so that your aunt can have a piece of your sorry-“

 

But his voice died in his throat, along with everyone else’s.

 

“If one more word comes out of anyone’s mouth that is not the spider,” he said, tightening his hand on the gun pressed firmly to Peter’s forehead, “then I will not hesitate to pull this trigger. Russian Rulet is a very exciting game, is it not?”

 

Tony could taste bile. “I swear, if you hurt him-“

 

His voice stopped dead when a loud _click_ sounded through the chamber. “I’d be careful, Mr. Stark.” He clicked the gun to reset it. “Only five chambers left. Wouldn’t push your luck.”

 

Tony Stark hated feeling helpless.

 

But this was absolute _torture_.

 

“What do you say, Bug?” he taunted, turning back to Peter - getting too close to his face. “Take the place of your friend. Your family. Take the pain so no one else has to.”

 

Tony wants to scream at them, scream at Peter to not do it, scream at the man for emotionally blackmailing Peter, scream at himself for being dumb enough to get caught.

 

But he - but he _couldn’t_.

 

He could only watch as Peter shakily nodded his head.

 

“I-“ Peter choked, probably on a sob “-I’ll go with you.”

 

The man grinned. “Excellent.”

 

And the guards unhooked him from the wall and took him away.  

 

But not before Tony and Peter could lock eyes.

 

Peter looked terrified. But also - somehow, in some way - determined. Like he knew exactly what he was getting himself into.

 

Or maybe he just knew that he didn’t have any idea. True knowledge is accepting that one knows nothing.

 

Tony didn’t know what expression was crossing his own face as their gazes crossed paths, but he knew he didn’t share the same sentiment.

 

The door slammed shut behind them, and the Avengers were left alone.


	3. Taken

Peter had been taken.

 

Taken away from his home. Taken away from safety. Taken away from happiness, it seemed.

 

And, most recently, taken from his family.

 

They led him down the hall. The hall was dimly lit, like the room, and it reminded him of a medieval castle or something.

 

His mind flashed to old movies filled with medieval torture chambers, and he physically shivered in the guards grips. That wasn’t something he wanted to be thinking about.

 

They half led, half dragged him down the hall. The dragging was due to the fact that one, he still was slightly hurt from when they took the team, and two, because the guards were walking too fast for him to get his footing. He stumbled along, grunting and shouting quips at the guards when the were too rough with him.

 

It was during one of his shouts that one of the guards yanked back on the other.

 

“Hold it,” the guy said, chucking Peter against the wall, causing him to cry out in pain and indignation. “I’ve had enough of its babbling.”

 

“Hold it yourself, bub,” Peter said, trying to get up. “Did you seriously just call me an _it_? As in, like-“

 

Another fist collided with his jaw, sending him back down onto the floor with a grunt.

 

The guards were talking, but Peter could hardly register that through the ringing in his ears.

 

So he wasn’t expecting it when something got shoved in his face, knocking the wind out of him as stars filled his vision. He soon realized what it was as they did something at the back of his head.

 

His shouts of protest, and _many_ profanities, could not be heard through the muzzle currently strapped to his face.

 

A _muzzle_.

 

On his _face_.

 

The guards paid no mind to the grunting and loud, scream-like sounds coming from him as they strapped the thing to his head from the back, so that no matter how hard he shook his head, it wouldn’t budge.

 

It made his face feel hot, and somehow vulnerable, even though it covered over half of it.

 

And he had just made that realization when they were hauling him up again, almost completely dragging him this time. They moved a lot faster. Peter heard one of them mumble something about “making up for lost time.”

 

Not to mention the fact that he was still slightly reeling from the _muzzle_ strapped to his _face_.

 

 _Seriously, what am I, a_ dog _?_ he thought to himself.

 

They rounded another corner, coming up to a large metal door. One of them put in a passcode for it. Peter tried to look at the keypad, but when the other realized what he was doing, his fist slammed into Peter’s face so hard that he hardly realized when the door opened.

 

Peter wasn’t aware that it was possible for your body to become so cold so fast.

 

It was . . . . It was a laboratory.

 

Tools lined the walls that seemed to be taken straight from a horror movie. Dark grey concrete was lit up by harsh fluorescent lights that made his head spin. A sleek metal table stood in the center, equipped with heavy-duty restraints.

 

His muffled protests weren’t listened to as the guards hauled him to the center, despite his jerking and struggling.

 

 _I’m not ending up on that thing, I’m not ending up on that thing, I’m not ending up_ -

 

But soon enough he was being slammed down onto the table hard enough to make his vision black out for a moment. Or maybe longer than a moment, since when he opened his eyes he was completely chained down to the table.

 

He was stripped down to his boxers, metal restraints over his ankles, thighs, chest, wrists, and neck.

 

He froze when he realized wires came from each of them. They all hooked up to some sort of box with a dial on it.

 

 _I know the cliches have been satisfied up to this point_ , he silently pleaded, _but please let this be something else than what I’m thinking of_.

 

He didn’t get to think any more on the topic when scientist were suddenly surrounding him, poking him with small metal sticks like he was . . . an experiment.

 

An _it_.

 

“Hey, what are you _doing_!” he tried to say.

 

Instead, it came out more like:

 

“Hmm _lmmhh_ hHHHm _mm_!”

 

Yeah, not his most heroic quip.

 

They ignored him, of course. He was sensing a pattern with all of these people-

 

 _Fire, fire, fire, explosion, pain, fire, why, whywhywhy_ -

 

Any scream that might’ve come out of his mouth was choked off and hardly noticeable beyond the overwhelming and overpowering _agony_ he was experiencing.

 

But as soon as it came, it stopped.

 

The man from before leaned over his now limp body. He painted beneath the muzzle, feeling like he had had another asthma attack for the first time in years.

 

“That is just a taste of why will happen if you try to resist.”

 

The man spoke through a surgical mask. It was almost a sick imitation of his own mask. Not his Spider-Man mask, of course, but the inhumaine mask strapped to his face that made his lungs burn due to lack of oxygen. His face feel hot from lack of air.

 

And before he could even think of what was going on, there was more pain.

 

And this time, it didn’t stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And guess what I’m not caught up anymore hope you guys like really short chapters if you want them on time 
> 
> Sorry I’m suck a mess :/
> 
> Oh and go check out agib’s tumblr a lot of her posts were the seeds that watered these ideas 
> 
> Sorry agib if I stole anything I can’t remember where your stuff ends and my stuff begins :/ adhd sucks


	4. Where Are You?

Through the agony - intense, never ending agony - Peter thinks of his father figure.

 

He wants to go back to Tony. He wants them to let him hold him. Heck, he wants all of the Avengers. Who was he sitting next to in the room, Bucky? He wanted Bucky to hug him. Sing to him in some soothing language. Dull the pain.

 

Or Steve could hug him, or Sam could talk to him, Natasha could sing to him, or Wanda could help him, anything that wasn’t the fire absolutely consuming his senses. He couldn’t escape. He could hardly think. It was all just . . . _pain_.

 

Dr. Banner could fix him up after this, right? He could heal him?

 

He could heal the many incisions on his torso, his internal organs they were poking and prodding.

 

He thanked anything out there that he was in his back, which meant that there wasn’t going to be anything down to his spine.

 

 _For now_ , he thought randomly, sending a rush of terror into his heart.

 

———

 

Tony, to put it lightly, was an absolute mess.

 

The others couldn’t get him to calm down no matter what they tried. It was like he was trapped in his own mind, searching for some form of his kid in the vast nothingness of his own reason. Steve could relate.

 

“Where are you, kid?” Tony mumbled to himself. “Come on, kid. You’ve gotta be okay.”

 

They were all at a loss to try and help him. Bruce has tried to calm him down multiple times, Natasha had tried whatever spy thing she had tried, Rhodey used all of his past experience, and Bucky apologized about a million times.

 

Tony, thankfully, didn’t blame Bucky. He knew he couldn’t say anything. Steve was grateful for that, at least.

 

And a small part of him was also eternally grateful to Peter. Bucky and the Wakandans had been working so hard to rid him of Hydra’s brainwashing, and being taken and experimented on out of the blue would reverse the whole process.

 

Of course, that was nothing compared to the horror he felt encompassing his entire being. The dread in his stomach. The guilt weighing on his shoulders.

 

He turned to look at Bucky across Nat, at a loss of what to say. Bucky looked back at him, both of them straining to pull back from the wall to look at each other.

 

Steve caught what Bucky was saying without having to hear anything. _I’m so sorry_.

 

And Steve didn’t have to say anything to answer. _It’s not your fault_.

 

Bucky simply shook his head and leaned back against the wall, leaving Steve to stare at the dimly lit floor.

 

He didn’t want to think of what they were doing to Peter. Would they make him into the next Winter Soldier? Would they create an army with his DNA? Would they torture him as revenge for the Avengers taking their SHIELD operations out?

 

Steve shivered in his shackles.

 

Tony still looked at a loss as he continued to mumble. “I’ll save you, kid. I swear to god, I’ll save you.”

 

“We’ll all save him, Tony,” Steve said in his best “I know what I’m talking about” voice. “We won’t let them get away with taking him. We’ll save him together.”

 

For the first time since they had been captured, Tony and Steve locked eyes. He was surprised by how much Tony just . . . wasn’t there. “And if we don’t?”

 

The words brought a chill to his spine, reminding him of (somehow) simpler times. “Then we’ll take them down with us. Together.”

 

Tony let his head fall back against the wall. “Well, whatever happens, we’re not letting Peter die here.”

 

However hard it was for Tony to say the phrase “letting Peter die here,” he didn’t let it show on his face. It simply held a grim determination.

 

Steve smirked. Of course Tony wouldn’t think of anything else.

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this is late I’m just. Terrible. There’s no other explanation 
> 
> This is crap but pls comment I need validation

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys should I get a 
> 
> t u m b l r a c c o u n t ???


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